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Atwater firefighters can't work until paperwork complete Fire chief has been suspended

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Deborah Guziak
January 29, 2008

By Deborah Guziak
Record-Courier staff writer
ATWATER " Fire Chief Lynn Whittlesey has been suspended and a probable cause hearing to remove him will be held Feb. 4, trustees said Monday.
Volunteer firefighters will not be allowed to work until the department is in compliance with the township's insurance needs, trustees said.
At a special meeting Monday, trustees agreed to have members of the Randolph Fire Department fulfill the station's needs, and Randolph Fire Chief Mike Lang will serve as interim fire chief in Atwater until a new one is selected, Trustee Dan Derreberry said.
Derreberry, who is the trustees' liaison with the fire department, said Whittlesey has not complied with their requests for information, such as a roster of members of the volunteer department or basic information for township insurance purposes. The needed information incluces firefighters names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers and a fire certificate.
"Why do you need my Social Security number?" one firefighter demanded. "You've got my driver's license number!"
After the meeting, Derreberry said he tried to work with Whittlesey to get the department and the trustees working as a team, but it didn't work.
"We asked for three months for a roster, and when we finally got one, it was two or three years old," Derreberry said. "If someone were to ask how many people we have on the department, I couldn't tell you because we don't have a roster."
A person answering the phone at Whittlesey's home after the meeting refused to call Whittlesey to the phone for comment.
Trustee Jim Conley said the locks at the station will be changed today, and Derreberry called the dispatching ceenter to inform them of the changes.
Lang, who volunteered to get the department in order, will bring six to eight firefighters/EMTs from the Randolph department.
"We have 30 people on staff," said his son, Mike Jr., who attended Monday's meeting with two other Randolph firefighters and Randolph Trustees Roger Klodt and Gary Horning.
Derreberry said the station will be staffed 24 hous per day and seven days per week by Randolph firefighters. The department also has mutual aid agreements with neighboring Deerfield and Edinburg.
About 50 people attended the meeting " about half of them firefighters. Members of the sheriff's department also attended the meeting.
"I hated to do this," Derreberry said. "But when I was running for trustee, I made a promise to the people to move the township forward."




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Previous 10 Comments    of 16 Total Comments
6.
    Posted by what?!? January 30, 2008
Well let's see 2 fulltime firefighter/EMTs @ $10.00 to $12.00 / hour per 24 hour shift this could be $4000.00 a week expence for the township vs. FREE..How long do you think this "getting the department in shape" is going to take ? This will be nice for Randolf firefighters to pick up some O.T.

5.
    Posted by aqha_gal January 30, 2008
MEETINGS ARE HELD THE 1st and 3rd MONDAYS OF THE MONTH AT 7PM (UNLESS CHANGED, WHICH THEY HAVE TO PUT IN THE NEWSPAPER). I'M APPALED THAT THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO DO SHOW UP TO THE MEETING IS THE FIREFIGHTERS AND A COUPLE CITIZENS....IF THE TOWNSHIP CARES SO MUCH. WHERE IS EVERYONE?

4.
    Posted by peachy January 29, 2008
Having missed the meeting, I don't know what to believe! All I know is that it will be the community that will suffer. This battle has been going on for too long. Perhaps an open meeting, instead of a "special" meeting can be called so that the community knows when to attend, and an open discussion can be held....

3.
    Posted by speeddemon0714@embarq.com January 29, 2008
Has everyone involved forgot what this is all about. Both sides are hurting the community. If Chief Lang had not volunteered it would have been Edinburg/Palmyra or Deerfield. My question is where is the township getting the money to pay Randolph to staff a township that does not have enough money to staff their department already.

2.
    Posted by jjbrown1948 January 29, 2008
Another sad chapter in the way the Trustees handle the fire department operation. Lets think how smart this is, fire the volunteers. And where does Randolph Chief Lang get off volunteering to "get the department in order". Sounds like he has chosen sides against the Atwater department that already was responding to every emergency call they received.

1.
    Posted by aqha_gal January 29, 2008
Please Deb Guziak, can you ever get a story correct? Honestly, I hope the that town doesn't believe half the crap you write because most of it isn't true! Mr. Derreberry is part of the "good ol' boy club", did he have the fire chief and crew sign the waiver that allows them to have access to the SS #'s? Now a days, I wouldn't give them my SS# either, especially when they already have the coverage and the premium was paid, there was not deadline per the insurance company...but Deb, you'd know that if you did your homework!

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